Pasta with the Pine Nuts
Today, I’m sharing with you one of the recipes I grew up on.
This is one of those dishes that everyone loves. It’s one that my sisters and I would beg for as kids. I’m not even joking; it elicited a chorus of “pasta with the pine nuts, pasta with the pine nuts, pasta with the pine nuts!” on more than one occasion. That’s what we’ve always called it. I’m not sure why (maybe because the crunchy, toasted pine nuts are the best part?), but I feel like “Pesto Pasta” better describes what it is… Nonetheless, “Pasta with the Pine Nuts” is what it will affectionately always be called in my house.
It’s funny actually, but when I group texted my family to make sure I was remembering the (very simple) recipe correctly, it was met with “YUM” and “I want some!” all around—it really is that good.
It’s so easy, too. At home, we used to use pre-made pesto from the refrigerated section of the grocery store. I used homemade here since I had some on hand, but know that it’s delicious either way.
This dish is adaptable, too. I’m just presenting it to you how my family most often enjoyed it. The only things that you absolutely can’t forget would be the pesto and pine nuts. The sun-dried tomatoes can be substituted with fresh, or go ahead and leave them out all together. If you don’t care for olives, don’t include them (my family just loves them). I probably wouldn’t substitute for any other kind of olive either (no kalamata or green), as I feel like the flavors would be too strong. Add some chicken or shrimp if you want more protein. It’s all about what you like. We prefer using thinner cappellini noodles for this, but you could get away with spaghetti or linguini as well.
Oh, and by the way, this is good, warm, cold, and everything in between 😉
PrintPasta with the Pine Nuts
Yield: 4 servings
Ingredients:
- 8 oz cappellini pasta
- 3 oz thinly sliced prosciutto
- 1.5 oz sun-dried tomatoes, sliced
- 1/3 cup pine nuts
- 1/3 cup sliced black olives
- 2/3 cup pesto (use this homemade recipe, or keep it simple with store-bought)
- freshly-grated parmesan, to serve
Directions:
- Boil the pasta according to the package directions, then drain and place in a large bowl.
- In a small sauté pan, toast the pine nuts until golden-brown; set aside.
- In the same pan, crisp up the prosciutto over medium-high heat. Drain on a paper-towel lined plate.
- Add all of the ingredients to the bowl of pasta, and toss to coat.
- Serve with freshly-grated parmesan cheese.
